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Humanity
Humanity was the Pantheon’s second attempt to create a race of lesser beings to populate the world they had created. Because of the errors made with their predecessors, the Fae, humanity’s life span was made much shorter and they were given no inherent ability to control magic. They live for a maximum of a hundred years and vary greatly in physical appearance dependent upon region and family line. The Humans were placed upon the land of Ga’leah and allowed to make their own homes. Clusters of humans made settlements in various regions, soon banding together into tribes, then cities, and finally kingdoms. The strongest and smartest became nobility, while the rest were made to fill more menial roles in the new society. It all pleased the Gods, because each caste of humans, each town, each kingdom, each profession and familial unit chose different members of the Pantheon to pay homage to. Over time, temples were erected in all of the major cities and some among the humans swore their lives in service to the deity they worshipped. These humans, made priests and priestesses of various gods, were some of the few among their race given the ability to wield magic. Granted only limited powers, the priests and priestesses of each god were given abilities to use to placate their worshipers and free the Gods of the time that would have needed to spend answering so many prayers and rewarding others for offerings. Each priest, however, was given only powers that related to that specific deity. A priest of the Forebearer, god of time, might be given the ability of Foresight or Hindsight, but could not be given the ability to create light. A priestess of the Matchmaker might be able to help someone find their soulmate, but would be incapable of helping a fishermen bring back a bountiful catch from the sea. After the gateway to Allutheria was opened on the Isle of Affalohn, the Fae began to have more and more contact with humanity. This contact led to a small population of ‘Halflings’. Although they still appear very much human, aging and dying at a human rate, these Halflings have a diluted ability to create magic…but at a great cost similar to that paid by the Fae. They are not capable of such grand works as the Fae themselves, but they are also not bound to a specific type of magic as a priest or priestess would be. For the most part, the Pantheon exists separate from humanity, viewing them much as a farmer might view his sheep. However, there have been a few instances where a deity has had a child with a human. These Demigods are extremely rare. By all accounts, in the entire history of Ga'leah, there have been only a handful. Demigods appear not to age at the rate of the Fae or Humanity and have an often unpredictable ability to use magic with strengths and weaknesses that could be a far cry from their godly parent. The only other hope of wielding magic for a human being, comes in the form of a magic artifact. Most artifacts were created by the Fae and are kept under careful guard by the Order of Fate on the Isle of Affalohn. Some do find their way into the black market that exists in each major city in Ga’leah. Most objects of power wielded by human beings in Ga’leah were, however, given to their wielder by a member of the Order of Fate to serve some greater purpose for the Fae. This most often comes in the form of a debt to be repaid at a later time. Just like the magic of the Fae themselves, the magical objects created by the Fae can only be used at great cost to the wielder. This price is not always exacted precisely at the time of use, and can change in type and severity without warning. Those who wield an object of power are often warned to do so with great caution. Humanity is perhaps the race that has suffered the most greatly at the hands of the Blight. Infected by the Walking Starvation and prey to its afflicted, they struggle to survive in a world gone mad where the Gods who once cared for them appear to be losing their powers and the Fae who once feigned friendship show their true colors as fear of their own destruction beckons. But Humanity has grown strong in the time since their creation, and unlike even the more powerful races of Ga’leah, they will fight for their lives and their land until the last human being falls…which may be sooner than even they know. Category:Species